Warriors finish regular season seventh after loss to Otters

The Cal State Stanislaus women's basketball team wrapped up regular season play Friday with a 67-56 loss at Cal State Monterey Bay in a California Collegiate Athletic Association contest.

The Warriors finished the regular season in seventh place in the CCAA with a record of 11-11, 13-13 overall. With the win, No. 23 Cal State Monterey Bay won the regular season title at 20-2 in conference play and 24-2 overall.

Cal State Stanislaus qualifies for the CCAA basketball championship tournament for the second time and it will face Cal Poly Pomona in the first round. The match-up against Cal Poly Pomona will be on Tuesday in Pomona, at 7 p.m.

The last time Stanislaus played Cal Poly Pomona was on Feb. 19, when they upset the then-CCAA leaders, 83-80, in Turlock.

Friday night, Christin Gowan led the Warriors for the second consecutive night with 18 points. Gowan was 5-for-8 from the floor, 7-for-8 from the free throw line, and contributed with one made from the arch.

The Otters came out strong against the Warriors in the first half. Although, Stanislaus only shot 25.8 percent from the floor, they held close to CSUMB by shooting 14-for-16 from the foul line. The Warriors fought hard against the well-balanced team and tied the game four times throughout the first half. Cal State Monterey Bay ended up pulling out a three-point lead to take the teams to half-time.

The second half was completely controlled by the Otters as they led by as many as 12 points after a layup by Julie Heurung at 12:07. A strong Monterey Bay defense prevented the Warriors from shooting better than the first half and eventually shut down their chances of pulling out the win.

This was the first game the Warriors have been beaten in every aspect of the game. Cal State Monterey Bay recorded more assists, blocks and rebounds than Stanislaus.

As team, the Warriors shot just 22.4 percent against one of the top defensive teams in NCAA Division II. The Warriors were 13 of 58 from the floor. They were kept in the game by going to the foul line as they finished 27-for-34 from the charity stripe.

Although Busi was held back offensively 0-for-15 from the floor, she was the strength of the Warriors on the boards with 11 rebounds. Henderson contributed with six rebounds.

This marks the second time the Warriors advance to the CCAA postseason tournament. Stanislaus was the No. 7 seed in the 2009 tournament and took on No. 2 Humboldt State in Arcata. HSU won that game, 82-61.